Which European capital was formerly called Christiania? Oslo was formerly called Christiania.
After a major fire destroyed medieval Oslo in 1624, King Christian IV ordered the city rebuilt closer to Akershus Fortress. The new settlement was named Christiania in the king’s honour. The spelling later changed to Kristiania in official Norwegian usage.
Norway became fully independent in 1905, and the royal name increasingly seemed out of place for the national capital. The city officially restored the name Oslo on 1 January 1925. This was also a return to an older name associated with the medieval settlement, whose remains lie in today’s Gamlebyen district.
A common mix-up is Copenhagen’s Freetown Christiania, a modern self-governing neighbourhood in Denmark. It is unrelated to the former official name of Norway’s capital. Oslo’s central area rebuilt by Christian IV is still known as Kvadraturen, reflecting its regular grid of streets.